Church v.2020 – Ten Changes:
#5 More Begin by Belonging – Less Begin by Believing
When compared with the American church of 2012, the future church (v.2020) will offer a new order to the faith that begins with belonging instead of believing. Diana Butler Bass rightly recognizes this shift as the one capable of moving the church from “religion-as-institution” to “religio as spiritually vital faith” (Christianity After Religion, 2012: p.204 — read my review here).
The current preferred order emerged in the last 500 years and became dominant as a result of many factors, including a preference for rational thinking guided by the Enlightenment and the Protestant Reformation alongside the perceived need by all denominations and religious groups to clarify its uniqueness. This model is now so common that many who follow the way of Jesus simply assume it has always been either the preferred or only path. It begins with belief, requiring would be adherents to affirm a group’s specific beliefs. Those who embrace believing are then expected to behave in manners that are consistent with such beliefs. Persons displaying proper beliefs and behaviors are then eligible to belong through formal standing typically referred to as church membership.
The new preferred order is consistent with the nature of Jesus’ own earthly ministry, the practices of the early church, and shared understanding embraced until the shift leading to the current order. The new (and old) order begins with belonging as people respond to invitation and receive welcome into a community of faith. This relational starting point provides newcomers the ability to experience what it means for them to be a part of this new community. As they participate they begin to act like (behave) those around them and those that the group as a whole seek to follow. Only after belonging to and behaving more like this new community do people move on to believing.
So What?
Today many people differentiate local congregations based on belief. Whether or not people are personally involved, they typically have a general understanding (or, at times, misunderstanding) of the beliefs of larger churches in their geographic area.
- Church “shoppers” with considerable prior church experience who consider themselves religious often have a consumer driven list not only of the types of religious services and programs they desire but also what beliefs are acceptable and what would be intolerable.
- Would be church visitors with little or no prior church experience who consider themselves spiritual not religious find it impossible to establish relational connectivity necessary to feel comfortable exploring the incredibly diverse possible options within Christian belief.
Application Questions
- Have you personally experienced congregational life in parishes relying on both models? If so, how would you explain the differences in them to someone who had only experienced one model or the other? If not, how might you gain experiential knowledge to supplement your current intellectual awareness?
- What are some of the practical implications you envision as likely (both positive and negative) if the majority of churches made the transition to the future church’s preferred model by 2020?